The secret to the juicy meat but crisp and crunchy skin is the apple cider brine which is one of my favorite flavors. Brining is an easy but somewhat long process but if you have the time this is an easy way to guarantee a delicious meal. After the chicken roasts I used the pan drippings with some cider to make a sauce for the meat and mashed potatoes. I used the method described on cooking light to seperate the fat from the sauce with a plastic ziplock bag since I still don't have one of my own. The potatoes were mashed with a tbsp of sour cream, a few cloves of roasted garlic and some herbs (oregano & rosemary) while the green beans were actually yard beans from my CSA. After blanching them I sauteed them up with some oil and garlic as well.
Cider Brine
3 quarts water
1 quart apple cider
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
3 bay leaf
1) heat all the ingredients until salt is dissolved
2) cool to room temp
Cider Roasted Chicken
4 q brine
1 lemon or orange
parsley spring
5 garlic cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
2' kitchen twine
1) soak chicken 8 hours of overnight
2) rinse chicken and stuff with quartered citrus, garlic and parsley then truss it
3) rub it with oil and salt & pepper
4) place in 400 F oven until 175 F inside (about 1 hr 45 min)
Cider Gravy
1) add 1 c apple cider to pan drippings and scrape up all bits over med heat
2) bring to boil and add a shake of wondra flour to thicken
3) once thick (10- 15 min) remove from heat
4) set a sandwich baggy in a measuring cup and strain sauce into it
5) allow to separate and then snip one corner to allow gravy to seep out - discard fat
1 comment:
Cider, wine, beer, etc...love them all to marinate meats. Using the citrus is a nice touch too.
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